Scientists Say Aliens and Humans May Have Similar DNA Patterns

The world has been fascinated with the existence of little green (or gray) men ever since the idea of extraterrestrial life first caught the
eyes and ears of the public. Fed by more or less real events, such as UFO sightings, abductions, and inexplicable phenomena such as crop circles,
people's fantasies of aliens have grown over the years, and more so after Hollywood started depicting them in movies. Now, a group of researchers
comes to argue that humans and possible aliens may share the same genetic architecture, on account of the fact that the building blocks of life are
the same in all of the Universe.

According to researchers at the McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, led by astrophysicist Ralph Pudritz, this idea was prompted by the
fact that the way in which amino-acids were found to bond in meteorite samples that were collected from Earth seemed very similar to the way the
building blocks of proteins tied to each other inside all living organisms on our planet. “This may implicate a universal structure of the first
genetic codes anywhere,” Pudritz says, as quoted by Wired.

“Thermodynamics is fundamental. It must hold through all points of the universe. If you can show there are certain frequencies that fall in a
natural way like this, there is an implied universality. It has to be tested, but it seems to make a lot of sense,” he adds. Paul Higgs, also a
biophysicist at the McMaster University, has co-authored the new study detailing the hypothesis, which has been published online on April 6th in
arXiv.

The experts say that the amino-acids required for the formation of proteins are relatively simple in structure, and that a warmer meteorite would
excel in providing the building blocks of life an appropriate environment to grow and to bind in ways that may facilitate the appearance of basic life
forms. And this part of the hypothesis refers to celestial bodies moving around in Cosmos, but similar conditions could be met on a distant exoplanet,
where millions of years of shifting conditions could meet the necessary requirements for alien life to occur at one point.

If it does, because it is based on the same type of construction as we are, the new organisms could also develop the same DNA patterns. It's doubtful
that the entire genetic structure will resemble that found on Earth, but it may be possible that hypothetical researchers could find common ground
between the two types of lifeforms.
softpedia

That's the tantalizing implication of a pattern found in the formation of amino acids in meteorites, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and
simulations of primordial Earth. The pattern appears to follow basic thermodynamic laws, applicable throughout the known universe..

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

My rudimentary understanding of what they are suggesting is that "life" as we understand it can only manifest itself genetically through a single
process. Thus if any alien life were to exist it would have to have emerged the same way life did on earth.

Please correct me on this point if I am misreading it as I am admittedly scientifically challenged.

Of course they are not talking about "intelligent" life, though I do find the use of the term "Alien" rather interesting.

It is not often that one sees in scientific circles the use of the word "alien" without going through an inordinate quantity of qualifiers to make
sure they are clear that they don't mean "little green men."

Professor Chang and his research colleagues show that apparent "extraterrestrial programming" gaps in DNA sequencing precipitated by a
hypothesized rush to create human life on Earth presented humankind with illogical growth of mass of cells we know as cancer."

Professor Chang further indicates that "What we see in our DNA is a program consisting of two versions, a big code and basic code." Mr. Chang then
affirms that the "First fact is, the complete 'program' was positively not written on Earth; that is now a verified fact. The second fact is, that
genes by themselves are not enough to explain evolution; there must be something more in 'the game'."

"Soon or later", Professor Chang says "we have to come to grips with the unbelievable notion that every life on Earth carries genetic code for his
extraterrestrial cousin and that evolution is not what we think it is."
*

Internal conditions of meteorites are unknown, but some scientists believe that certain large meteorites are both warm and hydrated, making them
roughly analogous to the relatively temperate environment of Earth's youth.

"There's a theory," said Pudritz, "that they could be made in the warm interiors of large-enough meteorites."

This is necessarily speculative, but it would explain why the 10 amino acids most common in primordial Earth experiments are also the most common
acids found in meteorites.

Pudritz and Higgs speculate that these 10 common amino acids met the needs of the earliest replicating molecules, with other, rarer acids used by the
nascent genetic code as they formed or arrived — a process called "stepwise evolution," culminating in the genes that gathered 3.6 billion years
ago in a common ancestor of all complex life.

If simulations of interactions between these 10 acids indeed support molecules that can copy themselves, said Pudritz, then it's possible that they
could support an ur-genetic code on Earth and elsewhere.

"There's a possible universality," he said, "for any code that would use amino acids."
wired

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

Does anyone know what "ur-genetic code" means?

Also more on this story and some interesting links at the New
Scientist.

My rudimentary understanding of what they are suggesting is that "life" as we understand it can only manifest itself genetically through a single
process. Thus if any alien life were to exist it would have to have emerged the same way life did on earth.

Not exactly. What the theory (and it includes quite a lot of speculation) says, is that the basic building blocks of "our" genetic material could
form spontaneously inside meteors rather than on a planetary surface. Some precursors of genetic material have been found in meteorites. This theory
claims that more could be found and that they could actually be quite common.

The theory does not claim that there can only be one genetic process nor that alien life would necessarily based on amino acids. But, if the genetic
material used by an alien life form did use amino acids, it is possible that that it would also use "our" amino acids because of the possibility
that they are very common. The theory requires speculation about the formation of more complex acids (not yet demonstrated). Also, the presence alone
of these precursors is not sufficient to demonstrate how (or if) they can, in turn, combine into self-replicating molecules such as DNA.

Professor Chang and his research colleagues show that apparent "extraterrestrial programming" gaps in DNA sequencing precipitated by a
hypothesized rush to create human life on Earth presented humankind with illogical growth of mass of cells we know as cancer."

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The
problem with that is the humans are not the only animals to have cancer, cancer happens in other species, so, if it was the result of "rushing" it
was not with humans or not with humans only.

Also, considering that we do not use "junk DNA", it does not surprise me that it did not worked as our body works, that is the whole "idea" of
DNA.

As for the opening post, it's obvious that Aliens (if they exist) and Humans may share the same DNA patterns, if it happened once it can
happen twice.

But that does not mean that they think that there isn't possible for a different DNA pattern to exist.

Why should life in other areas of the Universe be any different than it is on Earth?
The building blocks of life and genetic patterns themselves must be universal.
We are not unique.
It is past time to get over this narrow Earth centered idea.

So Phage/ArMap, thanks for chiming in by the way, what they're saying is the amino acids which were needed for life on Earth to emerge are abundant
throughout the universe and by deduction it is possible if not likely that similar life may have emerged elsewhere under the right conditions.

If I am getting this right, that is an awful lot of ifs in that statement.

Do you guys have any idea as to why they are willing to use the term "alien life" with such temerity when they know the loaded implications of such
semantics?

Our results also indicate that a certain degree of universality would be expected in the types of organic molecules seen on other earth-like
planets. Should life exist elsewhere, it would not be surprising if it used at least some of the same amino acids we do. Simple sugars, lipids and
nucleobases might also be shared.

One thing that would be fair to say is that evolution occurrs everywhere in the universe or nowhere. All liefe is the universe must be the product of
evolution or none. Peutting aside more escoteric or paranormal explanations for lifes presence.

A bit confused here. 'Scientists' say 'aliens' are fanciful and dillusional - yet, conclude that 'they' share similar DNA structure?? Another
example of why I equate 'scientist's statements' on the same tier as those made by 'governmental officials.'

Imho these articles (excellent ones btw) bring us basically two main conclusions.

1. Even if we don't really know about all other possibilities for complex and self-replicating molecules to exist and form in space, it still shows
that the ones that are our own building blocks are found in space, out of the earth. This raises the question about the source of life on earth: it
could have been here from the start, or it could have been triggered by some rock from space crashing on the earth, bringing those blocks built
already to self-replicate.

2. It tells us that, because those molecules are found elsewhere, not discarding the fact that life potentially could be formed with other molecules,
it wouldn't be surprising if we could find life that has also been formed out of the same building blocks, i.e. if extraterrestrial life were very
similar to life on earth, it wouldn't be strange beyond reason.

I must add that, even if life has multiple forms here on earth, the DNA seems organised in very definite patterns all over the planet: plants, fish,
microbes, dolphins and eagles, horses and dogs, ants and earthworms, every living creature on this planet including us humans, seems to be created
from the same basic bricks, and therefore it wouldn't be surprising at all if any other life elsewhere would be too. That doesn't make it different
if they're actually looking very different, if they have 8 legs or 2 heads or whatever imagination allows. They would still be, in the end, living
creatures made of the same structural elements as ours.

That is what I'm trying to say too, the reason monkey and human have such high DNA resemblence (?) could be that it is an 'working' model for two
legged standing creature, and if we and ET and Monkey could all three be very well alike DNA wise..... Dont need to be harder than that...

All creatures have 'junk DNA', but the percentage of it changes across species. Despite it's name, 'junk DNA' is a likely candidate for
maintaining the integrity of genetic codes as they mutate through generations. New Scientist did an article which I can't link to but I remember the
details. IIRC the more the junk DNA, the greater the chances that the organism will be limited in possible gene mutations. Nemotode worms can have
around three quarter junk DNA and are less subject to dramatic changes in gene mutation. Their environmrnt is less demanding of natural selection and
the junk DNA builds up. Humans have way less junk DNA and are therefore more likely to assimilate gene mutations through natural selection...I think

Originally posted by OhZone
Why should life in other areas of the Universe be any different than it is on Earth?
The building blocks of life and genetic patterns themselves must be universal.
We are not unique.
It is past time to get over this narrow Earth centered idea.

True, however it's the length of time the civilization has existed which determines how different they will be. A civilization a million years ahead
of us, with the same building blocks as us, will still be completely different. They will be very very advanced technologically and mentally, most
likely a lot more self-aware and conscious than we are now, and most likely a lot more spiritual.

I say all that because judging by our own history, our technology and spirituality has increased dramatically in these hundred years, so jump forward
another million years and it should be even more amazing. Although we do go through cycles it seems of advanced civilizations, each one is still
one-up the previous.

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